Instructors Corner
This year, we’re delivering intel-packed briefings designed to strengthen your knowledge base, expand training resources, stabilize tactical units, and ensure operational readiness.
Each briefing provides actionable strategies for:
- Team Structure & Leadership
- Selection & Training Standards & Protocols
- Training Programs & Performance Metrics
- Operational Readiness & Resilience
Own the mission—gain the training intel and tactical advantage you need today!
SELECTION VS TRAINING
In tactical and law enforcement environments, there is a persistent misconception about the roles of selection and training. While both are essential, they serve distinct purposes and should never be blended into one process. Over the years, I’ve observed instructors mix these two concepts, resulting in courses that were either “fun” or “hard”—but ultimately failed to deliver meaningful learning or accurate assessments. I see this in Basic SWAT courses being instructed. You first have to ask yourself what is the purpose of a Basic SWAT course. Is it to select the right people or train the ones that have been already chosen for a task to perform? So let’s break down the difference between selection and training.
SELECTION
A proper selection process identifies individuals who already possess the required attributes or potential for a role. It is about assessment, not instruction. Selection should:
- Evaluate candidates through physical fitness, practical applications, decision-making scenarios, and psychological assessments.
- Apply baseline standards for each assessment to ensure consistency and fairness.
- Filter out those who are not ready or do not meet the standards.
Selection ensures the right person is placed in the right role. Without this step, you risk assigning individuals who cannot meet or maintain operational standards.
TRAINING
Training begins after selection and focuses on developing skills, knowledge, and behaviors required for success. Its purpose is improvement and growth, not evaluation. Training should:
- Teach fundamentals and advanced techniques in a learning environment
- Close performance gaps and enhance capabilities
- Build confidence and maintain readiness through ongoing development.
Training is where you prepare chosen individuals to perform effectively and uphold standards over time.
Selection and training complement each other, but each has its place. Selection ensures you start with the right people; training ensures those people stay sharp and evolve. Both rely on clear, enforceable standards—selection enforces entry standards, training enforces maintenance standards.
If we fail to distinguish between selection and training, we compromise both processes. Mixing them creates confusion, erodes standards, and diminishes operational effectiveness.
Selection = Choosing the right person.
Training = Preparing that person to perform and maintain the standard.
When we choose the right people through proper selection and then invest in their growth through structured training, we build teams that are capable, confident, and ready for the mission. Anything less is a gamble with safety and success.